You Catch on Quick
by amberxxalert
Summary: What would happen if, when Renee left Charlie, she didn't bother to take Bella with her? The roles are switched when Edward and his family are the new kids and it's Bella's freshman year at Forks High [2003 to 2004]. REVIEWS FOR LOVE c:
1. Chapter One: The Story of My Life

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything, though I wish I did…c:

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**Chapter One: The Story of My Life**

When I was about three years old, my mother, Renee, decided that it was time for her to spread her wings and, well, just get out of Forks. She wasn't happy with my father, and he knew it. When I would ask why mommy didn't want me any more, he would always tell me that it wasn't me she didn't want, it was him. He told me that they couldn't get along with one another, which led to arguing, which led to the leaving of my dear, deadbeat mother. I never really cared _that_ much, because I barely knew Renee. I knew she was my mother, she lived in Phoenix, and she was remarried to some guy named Phil that was almost fifteen years younger than her.

She didn't even invite me to the wedding. The only reason I even found out was because when I called her (once a month to "catch up") to ask her where she was when I called the week before for our little chat, she admitted that she was on her honeymoon. I'd have to admit, that I was a little hurt by that. I mean, even though we weren't close, I was still her daughter! She blamed it on her forgetfulness and I blamed it on the fact that she was completely harebrained sometimes. But, she did try to make an honest effort for all of about a month. When I was around the age of eight or nine, Renee told me she wanted me to come spend the school year with her, so I packed up some stuff and went to spend my second grade year with my mother. The troubles started as soon as I got there.

I had been off the plane now for about an hour and Renee still wasn't there. I was just about to walk, but then I realized that she said she lived pretty far away from Phoenix International. Even if she didn't live God knows how far away from the airport, I still had no clue as to where, exactly, she _did_ live. So, instead, I just waited. And waited, and waited, and, hey, guess what, waited some more. I finally got sick of waiting around and asked one of the flight attendants if I could use their phone to call my dad, because I didn't know what my mother's number was either. When I called, let's just say that Dad was furious and about to come down to Phoenix and strangle my mother, but instead just called and yelled at her. When she finally did get there to pick me up, it was about nine at night and I had my first day at school tomorrow.

I just hoped that Renee would remember to wake me up and take me. Well, she did, but that was about all she remembered. About four weeks into my stay, I called my dad and told him I wanted to go home. Renee was always going out with Phil and leaving me to fend for myself. My clothes never got washed until I finally figure out how to do it, I learned how to cook really well since she didn't do that either, and I had absolutely no friends (they all thought I was weird because my skin was all pale). The washing of my clothes wasn't so bad, the cooking came in handy seeing as Dad can't cook in the least, but I could not deal with the no friends thing; I had lots of friends back in Forks. To say the least, I was extremely homesick.

I was on the next flight back to Washington State and Renee couldn't care less. If you ask me, she actually looked happy while taking me to the airport. That's not the point though. The point is that my mother is always absent when I need her. She doesn't even call once a month any more; it's more like whenever she could get around to it. But I didn't care, because I had my dad and that was enough. I loved my dad more than anything. He was Police Chief Swan, my hero. But, unfortunately, the chief couldn't save me from what was only a mere hour away. High school. Freshman year. All I can say is thank God for friends with parents that the only car they drive isn't a police cruiser. I had been getting a ride to school every day since the fifth grade. I couldn't thank Lila's mother enough. I shuddered to think about the ridicule that would come of my father driving me to school. Now, I love my dad, but nothing slows down traffic like a cop.

So I get to school and Lila and I jump out of her mom's minivan and run to the shelter of the covered sidewalks of Forks High.

"Where's building eight?" Lila is trying to locate our first class. We have all of them together but two: English and History. And the first is next hour and then, the next one is the period after lunch, so I try not to fret until I get to those places. I hated not having classes with Lila. She was my best friend and we had been extremely close since the first day we met. I loved her like a sister and she was one of the very few people who understood me.

"Probably next to building seven…" I asked in my usual sarcastic manner.

"I'm serious Bella! We have about five minutes to get to this stupid Geometry class and we have no clue as to where it is," Like I said, I love Lila, but she just takes things a little too seriously some times.

"Okay, fine. I'm guessing that it's that way," I said, pointing to my left, "because building two is right in front of us and building one is on the right. Oh, and hey, look building three is on the left, so I'm pretty sure if we keep going left we'll make it to building eight eventually…"

"Ha, that's very funny Bella. Make a joke out of all my distress. You know, sometimes I wonder if you even like being my friend…"

I just let her rant on. She didn't mean anything she said. She was just trying to muster up some inner soap opera for her drama class next period. Trust me, I know these things. Lila had been doing this since the beginning of the summer when she found out she'd be taking theatre this year. Sometimes I couldn't help but laughing at the girl. My best friend was hilarious when it came to her being mad. I know it's not right to be laughing when someone is mad at you, but I couldn't help it.

"Okay! I'm sorry. My God…" I finally just apologized so we could get on with life. We still had a class to look for, so we made our way down the sidewalk without speaking. Sure enough, we found building eight. We walked in and thanked the lord that there was no assigned seating. If I had to sit next to Jessica Stanley again because of the whole alphabetical seating thing, I think I might shoot myself, because, yes, she was in my class. Again. That's one thing I hated about small towns. The saying 'keep your enemies close' didn't come out of nowhere. Although, I don't think it's used in the literal form as it is here. With a school this small, you're bound to be in at least one class with almost everyone in your grade, which included your enemies. I had only two enemies and that most definitely included Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory. I don't know how this happened, though. I'm nice to everyone; even them.

I think it's because Jessica was in love with Mike Newton in the sixth grade and, by that point he was uselessly in love with me. I had no interest in this boy and still don't. I had gotten sick of him always hovering over me and staring at me, so I just told him that we would never be anything other than friends. He didn't accept this until I had told him the same thing at least one hundred times and Jessica never got over the fact that he liked me more than her. She was pretty vocal about the fact that she thought me to be plain and unbeautiful. That's how I knew that we could never be friends. Lauren, on the other hand, was different. I had no idea why she didn't like me. I figured it was because she was best friends with Jessica, so that just gave her an excuse. I honestly don't think Lauren likes anybody. She's just a perpetually nasty person that thinks she's better than everyone.

"Here we go. Are you ready for this?" Lila asked as we made our way to the very non-crowded back corner of the classroom.

"Gee…I don't know Lila. Geometry might be a little much. I mean, really, all those shapes. I'm not sure I can handle it," sarcasm was dripping from every word. I did it just because I knew it would get on her nerves, but, much to my surprise, she laughed. I was just about to ask her if she was on drugs when I was tapped on the shoulder.

"Excuse me. Could you please move over just a smidgen? I would like to sit in that desk you're standing in front of. That is, unless you're planning on sitting there."

I couldn't believe my eyes. An unfamiliar face was staring at me with a polite smile on her lips. This was not normal. I knew everyone in this school. I guessed she was a sophomore or something. But that couldn't have possibly been it unless she failed this class last year, because this was one of the few "freshman" classes.

"Err…sure," I replied after breaking myself from the trance I was in from staring at her face. Her uncanny beauty was amazing. I am not going to lie. I was jealous. No one should be that pretty.

"Why thank you," she said. She took her seat and unloaded notebooks, mechanical pencils, and a ruler out of her bag before turning back to us, "I am Alice Cullen. I'm new here."

Well, that explained it. She was new. "Hi. I'm Lila Peru and this," she started pointing, "This is Bella Swan." Lila was quicker than me and the look on her face said that she was thrilled that there was a new face walking the halls.

"Oh! It's nice to meet both of you. I was wondering if you could help point me in the right direction for my next classes." Alice smiled this wide-toothed, brilliant smile and looked at us with hopeful, wide eyes.

"Of course we'll help. Let me see you schedule and we can point you in the right direction," Lila may be quick, but, when I was at it, no one could be faster than me.

"Hold on just one second…" she turned in her seat and started digging through her bag, "I know it's in here some where…uh…ah ha! Here it is." She handed me the paper and I noticed that her next class was the same as mine.

"We have next hour class together. Building twelve is towards the back of the school. I'll walk with you," I offered.

"Really? Would you? That would be so helpful. My brother is in that class, too, so do you think we could wait for…" her face went from false surprise to kind of blank and then she continued, "Never mind. He can find it on his own."

Her face confused me. I wonder why she changed her mind so fast. How strange. I was going to ask, but the bell rang and the teacher began. This one didn't waste any time. He passed out geometry books and told us to take notes on chapter five, so I didn't have anymore opportunity to converse with the new girl. I did, on the other hand, pass a note to Lila about all the new happenings going on at our school.

_**Did you hear her? She's not the only new kid. There's a brother! Oh, I hope he's something worth looking at. The guys around here are so boring, but if he looks anything like her, we have NOTHING to worry about**_, I had written to her.

She giggled and started writing her response. I was finishing up the notes on the chapter when she handed the paper back.

_**I know! You're so lucky. You've got next period with them. If you don't tell me about him at lunch I will probably murder you, you know that? It's really not fair that there are people out there that are that pretty. Bella, I'm extremely jealous. Please slap me or something…**_, was her response.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to reply, because the bell rang and signaled us to hurry to our next class. I gave my friend a quick hug and turned around to find an expectant Alice Cullen. She started following as I walked out the door. Well, I almost walked out the door. I don't know if you can call tripping on the door frame walking or not. I expected Alice to giggle or look at me like I was retarded or something, but she didn't. Instead, she caught and steadied me. This was a hard sight to believe seeing as I was almost twice her size. You see, Alice was a small girl. She had ear-length jet black hair, tiny, perfect features, the whitest pale skin I had ever seen, and she was about four foot eleven in height it seemed. She couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds. I thanked her and walked, a little faster than usual, for I was sure she had seen my embarrassing blush, quickly ahead of her. She caught up quickly and that's when I noticed the amazing graceful, dance-like steps she took as she walked. This girl was perfect. That's one more person that's more extraordinary than I. Lovely.

"So," the pixie-looking girl beside me began, "what other classes do you have?"

"I have Spanish after this next class, History after lunch, P. E., and then Biology."

"Oh," she looked like she was kind of freaking out, but quickly recovered, "My brother's in the History class after lunch."

"What about you? What are your other classes?" I asked her this quite absently, because I was trying to figure her out. She was a very odd person if I'd ever seen one.

"Well, I have P. E. next, French after lunch, then I have a study period, and then History," she answered. "Say, are you okay?" she was observant, but not quite on the bulls eye.

"I'm just thinking," I explained to her.

We walked into Language Arts and sat in the back, close to the door. She looked a little nervous.

"Umm...are _you_ okay? You look a little nervous," I was starting to worry, too, and I didn't even know what there was to worry about.

"No, no. I'm fine," she seemed to think about her response, but it took less than a second and I'm not quite sure how I even noticed. "I'm just a little worried about this class." Her answer sounded honest and supported her expression, so I let it go. For some reason, I was still nervous. I had this feeling that too much homework wasn't going to be the worst thing to happen today. All my suspicions receded as the most beautiful creature in the world walked through the classroom door. I knew who it was before I was introduced. This God-like boy was tall with the strangest color of auburn hair I had ever seen against the same color white skin as the girl sitting next to me. He also had the same strange, liquid gold eyes as Alice. The hair was the only feature the two of them didn't share (not counting the extreme height difference and them being the opposite sex of each other). They both had the same skin, eye color, and purple, bruise-like shading under those same eyes. He came in the door smiling wildly and I then noticed they had the same penetrating, bleached white, toothy smile.

The feeling of ease didn't last long, though. As soon as the beautiful boy's eyes met mine a look of sheer torture mixed with the hideous look of pain, confusion, and hatred crossed his face and his eyes seemed to get darker by the second. He almost seemed to hold his breath, but he couldn't have, because I had been watching him for the past five minute and he still hadn't released it.

I realized I was staring and quickly turned my attention to the teacher who, until just about two seconds ago, I had no idea was even speaking. This was not something I wanted to do, which was odd, because I usually loved the introductions of the novels we would be reading this semester. I caught the end of the list and heard the inevitable _Romeo and Juliet_. I was not surprised at this since we read it every year. Don't get me wrong; I love _Romeo and Juliet_. I just wish that there could be something a little more original on that reading list. You see, I had already read all of the books and bought just about every book in the only bookstore within a hundred miles of our town. I didn't have my license yet, so I wasn't in much of a position to be going in search of a more populated bookstore in Seattle. All I'm saying is that I can't wait until I turn sixteen. My birthday is in one month and five days and Lila and I are planning on driving strait to Seattle that very weekend for an all day shopping event. I wasn't supposed to know it yet, but one of my childhood buddies, Jacob, who's like a brother to me, couldn't keep it a secret that, since Billy, his diabetes-diagnosed father, couldn't drive anymore, my father was buying the Black's truck that I've been eyeing for a long time now for my birthday this year.

I was having a hard time not smiling whenever I was over at the Black's or even just thinking about it. It was, after all, the coolest truck I had ever seen in my life. It was old and sturdy, but it didn't look like a piece of junk at all. It had a rusty red "paint job" and was one of those bulky numbers with a large cab. I could just picture myself driving in it, working the windows down inch by inch, the wind blowing through my hair. Another plus: if I were to crash, there probably wouldn't even be a scratch. Trust me; I've seen it after some pretty rough ones.

Jacob used to drive around in it after he got his learner's permit, but he stopped as soon as he ran into that tree. It wasn't only a tree though. Oh, no. You see, we were riding along the road, just me and him (it was easier to break the law when you knew that your father would let you off easy), when he decided to mess with the radio. All of about two seconds later, we were drifting off the road at about thirty miles per hour and miraculously missing the trees in the thick forest at our side. We soon realized that this was only so, because we were headed toward the old abandoned Victorian mansion about five or six miles from Forks, and the next thing I know, we were driving through the front yard, heading for the small building I assumed was a garage. All I can say is that there wasn't even a pole left standing when Jacob got through with it. Then, finally came the tree. We had slowed down to about twenty miles per hour, and probably wouldn't have even hit the building if Jake had of had his eyes open, but no, they were closed, and we ran strait into the tree. That had stopped the truck, so I pulled Jake out to survey the damage. I was surprised to find that there was not even a scratch on that old truck, so I quickly pulled Jake back inside and took the driver's seat, for I had much more experience, and got the hell out of there before anyone could figure out what we'd done.

I was quickly snapped back to reality when an annoying ringing came to my ears. It was the dismissal bell. I got up and turned to find that Alice and her God-like brother were already gone. I left the room, almost at a sprint, and raced to Spanish. I had forgotten that I had balance issues/not being able to walk across a flat, stable surface without finding _something_ to trip over issues, and tripped over my feet. Apparently I wanted to get to know the floor better. I got up as quick as I could, and walked at as fast of a pace I could manage without falling again to my next class. When I got there I saw that Lila had saved us two seats and near the back and was waiting for answers.

"How does he look?!" she blurted before I even had the chance to get into my seat.

"Amazing…" I said this pretty absently, and I could tell that she was confused and a little hurt that I wouldn't tell her everything. But I just couldn't tell her what was going on yet, because I wasn't exactly sure myself.

"So, you're not going to tell me how it went are you?"

"I can't talk about it right now."

"Why not," she half-shrieked.

I just pointed to the front of the room and gestured to the teacher who just walked in the door. God, this man had perfect timing. Thank you Lord!

"Buenos días, me llamo Señor Burk," the teacher said. The only part of that I came even close to understanding was Burk, and that was because I saw on my schedule that his name was Mr. Burk, "For all of you beginners in here, I just said 'Good morning, my name is Mr. Burk.' The first thing I'm going to teach you is the different greetings you'll be using during this class. Their differences are the time of day you say them. Now repeat after me, Buenos días."

"Buenos días," the class repeated.

We went on this little activity for about another fifteen minutes and then were handed worksheets on what we had learned. That's what we were supposed to do, but I found that I couldn't pay attention for my life. When the bell rang for lunch, I had only answered three of the twenty questions on the paper. The teacher saved me, once again, by telling the class that we could take it home for homework. _I think I'm really going to like this guy…_I thought to my self.

Lila and I walked silently into the lunchroom and stood in the shortest line. What food was at the end was unknown. I wasn't all that interested in food anyways and, quite honestly I was trying to think up something to say before Lila remembered about or conversation at the begging of class.

"So, are you ready to explain what your issue is?" she asked sharply. Apparently I was too late.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I was just going to play dumb and hope that she dropped it. But unfortunately, that would only happen in my dreams.

"What is your issue on the whole 'new kid' subject? You like, flipped out when I asked you about Alice's brother," she clarified.

"Oh," was all I said. Speaking of the new kids, I was wondering where they would be sitting today. I knew how the lunch tables always filled up, and even though I was one hundred percent positive that Alice's brother hated me, I wasn't going to give him even more of a reason by not at least offering for them to sit with Lila and me today. For some reason, I shuddered at the fact that Alice's brother didn't like me, and was willing to do almost anything to fix it. How strange. I usually just let people feel the way they felt about me. If it was good, great, but if it was bad, oh well.

"So, will you tell me now? Please? I've been dying to know. How hot is he?!" Did this girl never quit? I was just about to answer her when I saw the oddest thing I had ever seen in my life. There was an entire table that included five of the most beautiful people in the world and no one else. Of course, those five people were Alice and her brother along with a ginormous, burly boy with ringlets of chocolate-colored hair that looked to be the age of twenty rather than in high school, and a tall, very slender blonde with the most amazing figure I had ever seen. She had the fullest, softest looking hair and I was instantly jealous (who wouldn't be?).

Then, there was another blonde. This one looked on edge and was nervously tapping his foot on the ground. He was just as beautiful as the rest of them and had a long, slender figure only he looked to be even older than the curly-haired, large boy. Did these people fail fifteen grades or something? Now that I look at them, none but Alice and her brother from Language Arts looked like they belonged in this age group, but even Alice was pushing it. Her brother looked to be the youngest and definitely looked to be the most boyish of the three males. I found myself staring at him and it wasn't I who caught my self this time.

"What are you stare—Oh! Look at that. There aren't two new students, there are _five_. Amazing, there is a God. Those guys are hot!" She was practically drooling over them. No, scratch that, she _was_ drooling over them.

"Lila! What are you doing! Stop staring at them!" I was panicking, because I was afraid that they were going to turn around and catch us staring at them. That would be beyond embarrassing.

"Wha—," she blinked a few times and then said, "Oh. Sorry." She looked down at her feet, all embarrassed. I felt kind of bad for her. She wasn't the only one having trouble keeping her eyes to herself.

"Hey, why is Jessica going over to their table?" I was asking myself the same question and then I saw her start to flirt with the bronze-haired boy. This made the strangest surge of jealousy surge up in me. At that point, if I didn't distract my self, I was about to walk up to her and slap her in the face. How dare she think that _she_, of all people, can talk to _him_?

"Let's just go sit down, okay? I think I'm going to be sick," I told her honestly. I felt nauseous, and standing there, watching Jessica giggle and toy with her tight, curly locks was not helping in the least. We walked to a table all the way across the room and sat down near the exit. I don't know when this happened exactly, but I found my self staring at them again—all of their perfection and uncanny beauty. This was good and bad. It was good because I didn't miss Jessica storming off with the most hideous scowl on her face, but it was bad because I felt strange and out of control. It became even worse when, as I was staring, the bronze-haired brother of Alice's eyes flicked up and met mine. I, of course, glanced down immediately, waited a few seconds, and then glanced up at him real sneaky like from under my eyelids. He was still staring, and had a scowl on his face. That was it; that proved that he hated me.

I wonder what I did to upset him so. Why, I do not know, but I felt the sudden urge to redeem myself. I looked away and spent the rest of lunch staring at my shoes. When the bell rang I hadn't eaten anything, so I took my coke bottle with me to my next class and threw the rest away. I said my goodbyes to Lila and headed toward building six. Walking alone down the hallway was an unnerving thing. I felt kind of paranoid; like I was being watched. I even turned around a couple of times, but no one was looking at me. About the third time I turned around though, someone was behind me. Of course, he wasn't staring me down or anything, but he was stealing glances the same as me. Alice's brother, I couldn't call him his real name, for I had not yet learned it, was an odd person if I'd ever seen one. What else could I call some one who takes an instant disliking to people to whom he's never met before and made the most menacing glares at her that same day at lunch?

I didn't think about it a minute more and just ignored him the rest of the way towards class. When I made it in the room there was a picture of a seating chart on the door. I looked over the tables that were in groups of four people to a table and saw, to my relief and discomfort, that I was the only table with just one person. All of the rest of the tables were completely filled. I was relieved because I would not have to indulge in some awkward conversation with some person I'd never met before, and I was discomforted to find that I wouldn't get the chance for any conversation at all. Never the mind, I went to my assigned seat and took out my supplies. Our text books were already on the table in front of us, so I picked it up and moved it aside.

When the book dropped to the surface next to me, my papers in front of me were blown off to the floor by the breeze. I reached down to pick them up, and when I was in the upright position again, I had a visitor. It was Alice's brother, and he was seated in the seat directly in front of me. He had a mean scowl on his face, and his eyes were black as pitch. It seemed he was as happy about the situation as I was: not at all. I was going to at least ask his name, but the teacher, Mrs. Tubbs, was already announcing it to the class.

"Class, I would like to introduce you to a new student. His name is Edward Cullen and he comes here to join us from," she glanced down at the paper in her hand, "Denali, Alaska. Why don't you come up here and tell us a little about yourself Mr. Cullen?"

"Umm…Okay. My name is Edward. I like music, running, and hunting," he looked over toward the teacher and she motioned for him to sit down.

"That's lovely Edward. Thank you," her attention was given only to Edward, and when she realized this she turned back to the class, "Now class, we've got a lot to do this year, so I want to go ahead and get started. Turn to page ninety-eight in your text books and read chapter nine. When you're finished, answer all the review questions and turn them in to me." We all got started right away, and I had most of the chapter read in ten minutes. The questions weren't going to be hard. We used the same book in every history class, and, let's face it; history is never going to change. I was done with about an hour to spare, so I looked around to see who else was done and saw Edward was already on his way back from the teacher's desk. I got up, walked to her desk, placed the paper on the table, and walked back to my seat. There was nothing more for me to do, so I laid my head down and closed my eyes. When I got bored of that and sat up to look at the clock on the wall, Edward was staring at me again, and he looked utterly confused. What was his problem? This whole ordeal was really starting to get on my nerves. I only wished that I had the guts to ask him about it. But I didn't, so, instead, I just stared right back.

We sat like that for about five minutes, and then he turned away. He picked up his things, walked towards the teacher, said something to her, and the next thing I knew, he was walking out the door. I looked at the clock to see that we only had about five minutes left of class, so I got my things together and went back to resting my eyes. The bell rang what felt like seconds later. The rest of my day went smoothly and Lila's mother gave me a ride home as usual. I wasn't prepared for the information I was about to get from Jacob, Jacob's father, and my father himself.

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**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading the first chapter. I hope you like it. REVIEWS for LOVE!


	2. Chapter Two: Gossip Mongers

**Disclaimer: **None of this is owned by me.

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**Chapter Two: Gossip Mongers**

I walked up the door and pulled the key out from the eve. When I stepped through the door I immediately knew that Dad was on the phone. I could tell by the fact that he was talking in an agitated tone with no one replying. At first, I couldn't tell_ who_ he was talking to, because he usually never gets that upset with his normal telephone friends. It wasn't until he said the name Billy that I knew he was talking to Jacob's father. I felt terrible about doing it, but I just had to know why Dad was so mad at Billy. I had never seen him act this way toward his best friend, so I decided that I would delay making my entrance known.

"I don't care what you or your tribe believes. You can't just judge nice people like that when you get a 'funny' feeling," I heard as I snuck over to the kitchen door frame. Dad waited a couple of minutes as Billy replied.

"Do you know how crazy you sound? I met the Cullens and they most certainly are not evil," pause, "I know because they're actually really nice. I got kind of iffy about them having all those teenagers around, but they all seem very polite and well behaved—" So that's what all this was about. Billy thought the Cullens were _evil_? Ha! Edward may hate me on the spot, but I hardly consider that evil. And I'll assure you that Alice is quite the opposite if you ask me.

"What, do you think I'm stupid now? I would know if they were just acting that way. They all seemed pretty genuine to me. But I am going to keep an eye on those kids to make sure they don't get rowdy," pause, "Where do you get off calling them that? You don't know these people from Adam. That's probably the most ridiculous superstition I've heard you make up so far," pause, "Your_ father_ knew them?" he asked in a tone that questioned his friend's sanity, "Billy, your father has been dead for over five years, and these people just moved here last Sunday." I wondered what Billy calling them that was getting Dad so irked. I figured that it wasn't something I really wanted to here, so I decided it was time that I "came home".

I walked over to the front door and opened it once more. This time, though, I shut it real hard so Dad was sure to hear. I made a show of huffing and puffing and dropping my book bag next to the closet door under the stairs.

"We can talk about this later. Bella's home," he mumbled and hung up. I guess he thought I was def or something, "Hey Bells. How was school, honey?"

"There are some new kids at school," I said. I wondered if he would tell me about Billy's suspicion or not. He usually told me stuff like that.

"Yes, a Mr. Carlisle Cullen took a job at the hospital at the beginning of last week. I met the family as they were moving in. Did you introduce yourself?" He met them that long ago and he didn't mention it? Huh. That's different.

"Yeah. I met Alice and Edward. I have classes with them," I said as I sauntered over to the pantry to get out the contents for tonight's dinner. I decided I would cook Charlie's favorite: fish cooked in his friend Harry's fish fry with corn and green beans. He saw what I was taking out and smiled his crinkly-eyed smile. I like to make my dad smile. After all, we're all we've got. We fell into silence, and I didn't really mind. Dad and I aren't very good with words, so this silence happened often. I went on with the cooking and called up Jake when I finished up. I was glad that cooking took a couple of hours, because it kept my mind off wanting to know what all Billy said about the Cullens. I knew that Jake would know what Billy had against the new family even though he wasn't there earlier. If it was a tribal superstition, then Jake would have gone to the meeting of the council when the news sprung. His father thought that Jake needed to be informed of his family history, so he's been going to the meetings with him since he was seven.

The phone just kept ringing. _Ring. Ring. Ring._ On about the twelfth ring Billy picked up. His gruff voice said a rough "Hello?" into the phone.

"Hey Billy. It's Bella. Is Jake there yet?" I said quickly.

"Oh hello Bella," he said with obvious relief in his voice. I guess he must've thought it was Dad, "Yes, of course, Jake's right here." There was a short pause as the phone was passed from father to son.

"Bella?" I heard the familiar greeting from my friend.

"Hey Jake. Will you meet me at our spot? I want to ask you something."

"Uh…Sure, I guess. I'll be there in ten."

I hung up the phone and went to slip on my rain coat. I went over to Dad and told him I'd be back in a couple of hours. When he asked where I was going I just responded by saying "My spot" and smiling. He never made me be more specific when it came to the place where I went to be alone or think. Jake and I had been walking in the woods one day about two years ago, and we came across this area where a tree had fallen and landed on one of the neighboring trees. The spot was perfect; it was like a small place where it was surrounded by this circle of magnificent trees, and they did not dare grow past that ring. Once we found it, Jake brought a tarp, and we attached it to a branch of each of the trees in the ring to protect us from the everlasting rain. Our makeshift roof has continued to hold up so far. Over the last couple of years we had brought a couple of lawn chairs for us, so we wouldn't have to sit on the wet ground.

It was about a five minute walk from my house to the spot and a little bit longer journey for Jake, so I decided to take my time and appreciate the view. Though it was only trees and moss it never failed to take my breath away. I was so far into the forest by now that I could no longer see my house behind me. This was the part that I always got a little nervous, because the woods always brought an eerie silence when you were the only one around. I could hear nothing but my breath, my heart beat, and the small cry of a crow up above. I heard the rustle of a bush and turned to the noise. Of course, there was nothing there. My mind was just playing tricks on me I guess. I kept on my way, and came to my destination with about two minutes to spare. Yep. There he was. Jake was walking about fifty feet in front of me. I gave him a wave and sat in my comfy chair.

"Hey Bells. What'd you need? You sounded kind of upset on the phone…"

"Oh. Well, when I came home today Charlie was on the phone with Billy, and they weren't exactly having a pleasant conversation," I told him.

"That must be what my dad seemed so stressed about," he guessed.

"Yeah, that sounds about right. But, I was wondering what they were arguing about. I don't think I've ever heard them get so mad at each other before."

He looked pretty confused. "How should I know what they were talking about? I wasn't there, remember?"

"I know, but I thought you might be able to tell me something since I got that it was one of the tribal suspicions and that it was about the Cullens," I saw a flicker of recognition when I said their name. I guess he knew something after all.

"I'm not allowed to talk about that—"

"Why not?!" I was starting to get annoyed. Jake and I could always talk about anything, and now he's holding out when I'm the most curious I've ever been about something. I don't know what was going on with me. Whenever I heard the word Cullen I just _had_ to listen.

"We're not allowed to talk about anything that goes on at the meetings and you know that," he explained. He was right of course. I did know that, but I thought he knew he could trust me.

"Jake, you can trust me. Come on, we're friends. I would never tell on you or tell some one else or anything. Please, just tell me!" I was begging, and I'm sure it didn't look too pretty.

"I—I don't know. I know I can trust you, but if I tell you I'll be giving up tribe secret, not to mention breaking a fifty-year-old treaty—"

"Treaty? What treaty?"

"Oh, great. Now I've done it."

"Jake, just tell me already. Please, I'm begging you."

"Why? Why do you care so much about these people?"

"I don't really know. I just know that I need to know what you're dad was saying about them that made my dad so upset. It had to pretty bad. And, hey, if it's something bad I need to know, right, because I have classes with two of them." I was stretching it with the last part just to get him to crack. I knew I was taking advantage of the fact that he's had a crush on me since we were little kids. He cared too much for my well being not to tell me.

"Okay, fine," bingo, "It's more of an old tribal story, and I'm not even sure _I _believe it. Don't let this go to your head or anything, okay?"

"Okay," I put my hand in the air like I was surrendering, "Just tell me, please?"

"I cannot believe I'm doing this. My dad, not to mention the rest of the Quileute tribe, is going to kill me, you know that? If what these stories say are true, I could be starting a war just by saying this crap—"

"Jake! If you really don't want to tell me, just don't. I'll just have to find out the hard way by spending the entire year sitting next to them…" I trailed off.

"Fine, that sounds good to me. They're not _supposed_ to be dangerous anymore anyways."

"What do you mean 'they're not _supposed_ to be dangerous anymore'?"

"Look, Bella, I have to go. I have to be home soon. Quil and Embry are bringing over some more parts for those dirt bikes we've been messing with."

"Fine, be that way. I'm going home," I pouted. I turned and walked back towards my house. Jacob was being so cryptic that it made me want to know what was going on even more. I thought on what it could be about while I was walking home, and started to realize that it was getting dark pretty fast. I'm not scared of the dark or anything, but forested areas are always way dark at night, and soon I wouldn't be able to see two feet in front of me. I started getting nervous as the light started becoming nonexistent. I heard a rustle to my left and took off running. The woods are way creepy, and I didn't want to get lost in them. I was about to start screaming for help when I heard the noise of a car passing by. Thank God. I was just a few feet away from the welcomed shelter of my house. When I broke through the trees I ran strait the door, and busted inside. I went into the living room and saw that Dad was watching football, so I kissed him goodnight and went upstairs to bed.

Sleep came easy, but wasn't very comforting. At first I found myself at school. I was sitting in a classroom with an unfamiliar teacher rambling about something that I couldn't quite seem to concentrate on. All I found relevant was that I could feel someone's hateful glares boring into the back of my head. When I turned to find the culprit it was none other than Edward Cullen. I stared deep into his eyes, and there seemed to be something accompanying the hate. I didn't have enough time to find what it was, because he got up and lunged across the room at me. I knew that the logical feeling right now would be fear, yet I found that all I could think was: _Anything to make him happy_. It was completely insane, but that's what was going through my brain. But as he made his way, everything stopped, because the scene changed and I became alone in the dark forest outside my house.

It was pitch black, and I could see nothing. There were noises of things moving in the leaves all around. Every which way I turned there was rustling and crunching and cracking. I felt someone or something behind me, so I started to run. But my inevitably clumsy nature took over. I fell to the ground after tripping over a twig, or at least I thought it was a twig. When I tried to get up something knocked me back down. I turned over and saw two glowing, penetrating eyes staring back down at me. The next thing I knew, I woke up screaming. The clock glowing blue on the nightstand next to my bed read six twenty-two.

I had all of eight minutes left to sleep, so I didn't bother trying to rest again. I turned on my lamp, and walked over to my dresser to grab my clothes and bathroom things. The one bad thing about this old house was that it had all of one bathroom, so I keep all my stuff in my room to save my dad the embarrassment.

I took my time in the shower by letting the warm water surround my entire being and release all of my tension from the night's dream. I usually don't have nightmares like that. I can't remember the last time I woke up screaming. At first I'm surprised that Dad hasn't come rushing in but then I remember that he went to work about two and a half hours ago. I finished up in the shower, and turned everything off. I still had about twenty minutes until Lila and her mother showed up, so I got dressed and went downstairs to grab some Captain Crunch.

I heard a honking coming from outside. I looked out the window, and, sure enough, there was Lila's mother's minivan. I grabbed my black raincoat, threw it on, picked up my book bag, and ran out the door. I didn't bother locking up, because crime just didn't happen here. I don't I've ever heard of anything illegal happening in the safe little town of Forks.

"Hey Bells. Oh! Oh my God! Guess what I've got," she said while sliding open the van's door. Someone apparently had their coffee this morning.

"Good morning Mrs. Peru," I said, and then turned back to Lila, "I'm too asleep to guess anything this morning, Lila. Just tell me please."

"Oh-Kay," she dragged out dramatically, "Well, I've got some details on the new kids." Lila had an impish grin spreading across her face. I was finally going to learn _something_ about these people.

"Really?" I said with obvious hope in my voice, "Tell me."

"Well, they moved here from _Alaska_. The father is a new doctor at the hospital, and his wife is some kind of decorator or architect. They bought that old abandoned place just outside of town, and the wife, Esme I think, refinishing it," so far, nothing new, "And both of them are _way_ too young to have teenage kids. They're, like, around twenty-two or something. But, they're not their kids at all. The girl, Alice, and her brother, Edward wasn't it? Well, anyways, they and that huge one sitting with them at lunch are all brother and sister, but they're the kids of the wife's sister and her husband. They died or something. And the other two, the tall blondes, they're twins, but they're adopted. Now, the best part is, they're all 'together'!" she was racing through all these details, and I'm wondering who filled her in about this. I almost just start thinking she made it all, but I let her finish anyways, "Like, the tall blonde guy and Alice, and the tall blonde girl and the big, huge guy, you know?"

"You mean like 'together' together?"

"Yes! You know that kid Jimmy, the junior that my brother hangs out with? Well, he was over at our house last night, and he said that yesterday, after school, he saw Alice and the blonde guy holding hands, and he saw the other two kissing each other by the gym doors closest to the parking lot!"

"How do you always seem to figure this stuff out? You've always got the best gossip," I said in wonder.

"It's not gossip, its fact," she said, "Besides, my neighbor, Mrs. Grange, works as a nurse at the hospital, and she got the information first hand from the doctor himself, and then passed it on to me, of course," she said with a flutter of her lashes.

"Well, fiction or fact, gossip is gossip," I said as we pulled up to the curb at the school.

Lila and I said goodbye to her mother, and made our way to Geometry. I'm just glad that day one was over yesterday, because on day two, everything seems a little more familiar. We know where, exactly, all the building and classes are, for one, and day two is the day that the actual school routine starts. We come in the classroom, hand the teacher our syllabuses, and walk over to our desks. Alice is already there starting on her warm up. When we sat down she offered a small wave and Lila returned it with a smile. I was a little disoriented after all the facts I had learned about her and her family this morning. They _seemed_ like nice people (with the exception of Edward), and Jacob said they weren't _supposed_ to be dangerous, so I was willing to get to know Alice and maybe we could possibly be friends. I didn't want to seem rude, so I gave her a wave and said good morning. She seemed to brighten when I acknowledged her. That, in turn, made me smile. I don't know what it is about making people happy that's just so uplifting, but when you started, you just didn't want to stop. Putting people in good moods put me in one as well.

"So, Alice," I started, "how was your first day at Forks High?"

"Oh fine, thanks. It helped tremendously that everyone's so nice here," she smiled graciously. I was kind of shocked at her use of vocabulary. Not many teenagers I knew even knew what tremendously meant.

"I'm glad," I told her, and I was. I hated it when people where mean to new kids. I remembered that that was how Lila and I became friends. She was new our fifth grade year, and there were some kids picking on her as she was waiting for her mom to come pick her up. I was so mad when they knocked her open book bag over and everything went flying, that I went over to them and told those brats off. I remembered saying something along the lines of "You snot-faced, rat-tailed, spider monkeys need to go home and tell your parents to teach you some _real_ manners," or something like that. I had turned around to help her pick up her things, and she was just rolling on the ground, laughing so hard that her face was red. I was embarrassed, and, of course, I blushed so red that she laughed even harder. I was about to run off when she got up and gave me a hug. I was kind of taken aback, but I hugged her anyways. Some how, I knew that we were going to be great friends, and, what do you know, we are.

The teacher stood up then, and told us to take out paper for notes. Today we were learning chapter six: volume and area. I turned to my left to get paper out of my bag, but Alice was faster. She had already put a couple of pieces on my desk.

"Thanks," I told her with a smile.

"No problem," her answering smile greatly outdid mine.

The notes didn't take me long. It was mostly definitions and drawing. We still had about forty-five more minutes left, and I wasn't sure what I should do. I could check my home work from last night, or maybe do some reading. Today I was reading _Pride & Prejudice_ for what seemed like the millionth time. I don't know what it was about these books, but I could pick up almost any book by Jane Austen, and read and reread them over and over. My favorites were, of course, _Pride & Prejudice_ and _Sense & Sensibly_. I had this gigantic volume with all of her novels in one back at the house, as well as all of them in their own individual novels. Call me crazy, but I thought it better to own both types. This way, if I was at home and wanted to read them I wouldn't have to get out the big book. But if I was traveling (not that I did much of that) I would only have to bring one book and not seven. I took out the book and began on page one twenty-seven where I left off.

It seemed like mere moments since I began reading, but I had lost myself in the story and apparently the time just slipped by and the bell was now ringing. I turned to my left and there was Alice. She was looking down at me expectantly, and I remembered we had next hour together. I quickly gathered up my things and followed her to the door. I made sure not to trip again.

"I saw that you finished the notes fairly quickly," she said unexpectedly.

"Uh, yeah, I just copied all the definitions and diagrams real fast. No one ever said the notes had to be pretty," I told her. She laughed then, and it was more the sound of wind chimes than a laugh.

"No, I don't believe they did," she agreed, "Hey, can we stop at my locker real quick? I forgot my book for the next class."

"Of course," I said. We still had plenty of time left, and I could see the classroom from here, "Where's your locker?"

"Oh, it's just around the corner. It won't take long, I promise." Her face went all blank again, like yesterday. I was about to ask her if she was alright, but as soon as it came, it went. We continued walking to her locker. She walked up to locker one twenty-nine, and turned the code so fast that the numbers were just a blur. Amazingly, she got it right the first try.

"Hey, Alice," the big burly-looking one from lunch came up and tapped her on the back. He was in the process of walking away when she swung around and called to him.

"Emmett! Emmett, I need to talk to you right now," she said as she walked up to him, grabbed his shirt, and turned back to me, "I'll be back in a minute Bella. If you don't want to wait, you can just go on to class." She was all smiles at me, but as she was turning back to Emmett I could see a glimpse of worry on her face.

"I don't have time for this, Alice. Rosalie is waiting for me outside of the gym—" Emmett began. The way he was talking to her about this Rosalie girl made me think that she was the tall, stunning blonde girl from their lunch table.

"No, I need to talk to you _right_ now. It's about Edward."

As if that explained everything, Emmett turned his attention full on to her. I wanted to stay and try to listen in, because, mean as he was, every time I heard Edward's name my heart skipped a beat. But I excused it off as the fact that he's utterly gorgeous. I also figured that eves dropping on my new acquaintance would not start us off well in the trust department, so I just went on my way to Language Arts. I still had an ample amount of time left before the bell rang, so I took my time down the sidewalk towards building twelve.

When I finally did make it to the door, a note told me that the class was meeting in building five today. Building five was the computer lab, so I figured we were going to be doing some research, or at least some writing. _Good_, I thought, _I've wanted to do some writing lately_.

I went back the way I came, so I could just meet up with Alice where I left her. When I got to her locker she and Emmett were gone. I was a little confused, but I waved it away and continued to the computer lab. I saw Jessica and Lauren standing outside the door to building ten, and as soon as they saw me they, of course, turned to one another and started whispering. I paid little attention to them anymore. Over the past few years I've gotten used to their making fun of me. I learned long ago that it was just petty and immature.

I looked swiftly at my watch as I entered the room. There was about two minutes to spare, and I couldn't help but notice that Alice nor Edward was anywhere to be seen yet. I wasn't really worried too much, because there was still plenty of time for them to make it. I found a seat next to a boy named Ben and held my breath for the arrival of Edward Cullen.

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**Author's Note:** It's a little shorter than last chapter, but I still think you'll like it. I hope you enjoy! Also, I'll be updating a bit sooner for the other chapters. Last week I went through a phase of writer's block, but…Please Review! And, thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter Three: Killing Loneliness

**Disclaimer: **It all belongs to Stephenie Meyer. NOT ME.

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**Chapter Three: Killing Loneliness**

Holding my breath turned out to be pointless. The bell rang and neither Alice nor Edward showed. I wondered what was up, because I had just been walking with Alice not five minutes ago. I knew it was absolutely none of my business, but I couldn't stop thinking about her saying Edward's name and having a worried look on her face. It made me all anxious and uncomfortable just to think about the possibilities. Thankfully I was distracted by the directions given to us for our first project.

"I would like you all to write me a five paragraph essay about yourself, your hobbies, friends, family, and a topic of your choosing," Ms. Ramsey told us. Before, I was ready to come in here and write up a storm, but now, I'm not so sure I could even write one paragraph (let alone five). _Come on, Bella. Get yourself together,_ I ordered myself, _it's none of your business where any of those new kids are._

Over the first hour of class I wrote down the required information into a nice little essay. I was a little brain dead after I was finished, but at least I got it done. I don't know why it was so hard for me to write about my self. You'd think that that'd be the easiest subject of them all, but as I reread what I had written, I noticed that all the sentences were meek and boring. It seemed to be that I wrote the minimal of what was required of me. That, in itself, showed that there was something wrong. I've always been passionate about my school work. I don't enjoy doing it exactly, but when I do it I put I a lot of effort into it. I always do my best.

As the bell rang to go to Spanish, I turned my paper into the teacher. I was a little reluctant to go speak a foreign language, so I dragged my feet a little. When I walked through the door, Señor Burk had already begun a lecture. I tried my best to draw as little attention toward myself as possible. I hated it when people stared at me. Not a minute later the bell rang, and everyone's attention was adverted back to the lesson. Today we were learning basic colors. I knew most of them already, so class wouldn't put even more of a damper on my already not-so-great day.

When Señor Burk had finished teaching us the colors of the rainbow he took up last night's worksheet, and gave us a new one to start. I finished this one in about fifteen minutes and was ready to call it a day. Lila apparently wasn't feeling the same. She was just as talkative as ever.

"Have you heard what's happened with the Cullens?" she started.

"No…what?"

"Well, early this morning Alice's brother, the auburn-haired one, got really sick or something. They all went strait home. I guess they think what he has is contagious."

"Sick? So that's what Alice must've been talking about—" I stopped, because I knew Lila would get curious. Also, I didn't want her to go gossiping about the next thought that flew into my head: _How would have Alice know that Edward was sick. She hadn't seen him while we were walking, and she didn't seem worried until she got that blank look in her eye._

There was something different about these people, and I knew it. I didn't know what _it_ was exactly, but I did want Alice to be able to trust me. Even if there _was_ something weird going on, that wouldn't make a difference. Alice was my friend, and it was going to stay that way. I don't think I've been so comfortable just talking to someone like that since I met Lila.

"What? What was she talking about?" Lila asked excitedly.

"Nothing. I—I mean she, well, she was just looking a little worried when she was talking to her brother, that's all. See, nothing important. She was just worried about," I gulped, "Edward."

"Oh…Okay," she looked disappointedly at me, "Well…did you hear about Angela and Ben?!"

The rest of the conversation went in a similar fashion, and, surprisingly, I found Lila to be kind of annoying when she talked about people the way she did. I've always known she was big on gossip; I just didn't want to hear it right now.

"Hey Lila, could you help me with my geometry homework real quick?" I said. I needed help with geometry like a hole in the head, but I was willing to say just about anything to make her stop gossiping.

"Uh…Yeah, sure. What did you need help on?"

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I pretended to play dumb with my homework until the bell rang, and then we were off to lunch. I went through the line and got an apple and some lemonade. As I was walking away from the lunch line, I couldn't help but to peek over at the table where all of the Cullens sat the day previous. I felt a pang of anxiousness as I saw what I already knew: None of them where there. I wanted so bad to know what was going on. It was not like me to be this nosey, but I had this awkward feeling that I was going to be closer friends with Alice than I was with even Lila, so I was worried about her. This made me happy and sad at the same time. I didn't want it to be like I was trading Lila in for a newer model, but I knew that she and I would always be friends. That's just the way it was with us. We could fight with each other like it was World War II, and make up by the end of the day.

I bought my lunch and stopped to wait for Lila. Once she was finished we went to sit at a table with Angela and Mike. We only sat there when all the other tables were full. Although we were good friends with Mike and Angela, we didn't get along with other people at that table. Unfortunately, Jessica, Lauren, and their band of Bella and Lila haters sat there because it was supposedly the "popular" table. Jessica and Lauren's friends didn't really dislike me, but they wanted to fit in. Therefore, they followed mercilessly. When we did sit at that table we made sure to sit as far away from them as possible and only talk to Angela and Mike. As far as I was concerned, anyone who sat on the other side of the invisible line that separated us from them had crossed to The Dark Side. It was rather sad actually. I used to be friends with a lot of them; Karen, Greg, Daniel, and Maggie all used to hang out with me and Lila until Jess got a hold of them.

"Hey Mike, Angie," I greeted them kindly.

"Bella! Sitting with us today?" Mike asked with a gleam of hope in his eyes.

"Yeah, the tables fill up real quick here…Do you mind?"

"Of course not," Angela interjected.

"Yeah, of course not," Mike smiled, "Actually, I don't think anyone would mind if you sat here every day."

"Thanks," at smiled at them both. I knew he was wrong, though. There were plenty of people who minded, but I didn't say that out loud. We were in need of seats for the school year. I was a little nervous, because I had not sat with this crowd since the middle of last school year. I noticed Lauren and Jessica across the table, arguing with each other.

"Hey, guys, I think we should all hang out this weekend," Mike addressed the table. I turned quietly to Lila to start our own conversation. I didn't want to interrupt their social planning.

"Sorry, I'd love to, but my grandparents are 'coming into town'," she said the last part in a pretty good imitation of her mother, "I'm confined to old people slobbering all over me, pinching my cheeks, and lecturing me about the old days."

After Lauren's excuse, everyone on "The Dark Side" quickly made up reasons why they just couldn't attend; everyone except Jessica that is.

"I'd love to go Mike," she smiled sweetly and looked toward me.

I was confused until Mike turned to me as well and said, "What about you, Bells?"

"Yeah, Bella, you should come," she said. I was utterly shocked, "We haven't hung out in forever!"

I was tempted to say "Who are you, and what have you done with the snob that is Jessica Stanley?", but I turned to Lila and asked if she wanted to go. I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Jessica glaring when I invited her.

"Oh, I can't. I'm still grounded, remember? But you should go. Don't let me stop you," she smiled. She looked sincere, but I wasn't sure. I looked from her to Jessica to Mike and back to her. She just nodded in encouragement.

"Okay…Sure, I guess—"

"Great!" Jessica interrupted me. I was kind of scared. I couldn't help but wonder why she wanted me to go. Like I've said, we weren't friends.

"So, I thought we could go see a movie. What do you guys think?"

"Oh, oh! I've been wanting to see _Pirates of the Caribbean_. I heard I was really good," she offered.

"That's sound great," Mike said at the same time I said, "Sure."

It was weird. Mike, Lila, Jessica, and I spent the rest of lunch laughing and chatting like we were the best of friends. I guess Lauren was getting on Jessica's nerves at the moment. When the bell rang we all got up and walked together to the door and parted our separate ways when it was time to go to our classes. The rest of the day was uneventful and passed by quickly. I walked out of Biology, and made my way to the parking lot. It was raining pretty lightly, so I decided I'd just let the rain hit me. I've always loved walking in the rain.

"Hey, Lila, Mrs. Peru," I said while getting into the van to go home.

"Hello dear," Mrs. Peru responded.

"Hiya, Bells," Lila said, "That was real weird at lunch today, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Definitely weird. I wonder what Lauren did to Jessica."

"Oh, when they were talking about the guys they were into, Lauren told her she was a loser, because she liked Daniel Peirce. Do you think that's what this is about?"

"Well, other than Lauren, I don't think Jess is really _friends_ with any one but Mike," I guessed. All the others were more like minions to Lauren. Whatever she said went.

"That makes sense. Do you think she'll still talk to you after this weekend?"

"Ha! I doubt it. She'll make up with Lauren, and things will go right back to how they were before. But I'm going to give her a chance anyways. If she's going to be nice for now, then so am I."

"See, that's why I'm friends with you. Bells, you're the epitome of nice. You're even nice to people who make fun of you. I'm envious. I could _never_ be like that," she said shaking her head.

"It takes years and years of practice buddy. It's not a very easy task to master, either."

She laughed, and we spent the rest of the drive talking about a bunch of unimportance. When we got to my house I said my goodbyes and hopped out. I noticed that Dad's cruiser wasn't in the driveway, so I was going to be able to do my homework without the awful racket coming from some kind of sport on the T. V.

I walked in the door to a quiet haven. I wanted to go ahead and finish everything so I could get started on dinner for Dad. Tonight I was going to be making parmesan chicken. I started with Spanish. The notes we were supposed to take on chapter four to get us prepared for tomorrow were only one page, front and back. I moved on quickly to Biology homework.

When I was finished I made my way to the freezer and pulled out the chicken breasts to defrost them. Once I had them in the microwave I took out the ingredients for the sauce and began feeding the tomatoes through the food processor. I took the pulpy mess and fixed it through a strainer to remove the seeds and the tomato membrane. I went over to the cabinet under the stove and took out a small pan and began sautéing the garlic. When it was finished, I took what was left of the tomatoes and added the garlic and a hint of sugar. Next, I placed the concoction into a large pot and fixed up my sachet full of dried herbs. I added in the sachet and left it to cook for the next couple of hours.

When the chicken breasts were done defrosting, I took them and pounded them with a meat mallet until they were of the right size. I, next, went to the cheese. I grated the parmesan and sliced the mozzarella into thin slices. I took out two bowls in which to mix my ingredients. One was used to whisk the eggs and water, while the other was used to mix the parmesan and breadcrumbs. I dredged the chicken in the flour on both sides and repeated the step with the egg and water mixture as well as the cheese and breadcrumbs mixture. I moved my chicken breasts to the second frying pan I had taken out and sautéed them until they were golden brown. When they were finished browning I moved them into a casserole dish. I poured the finished tomato sauce over the chicken, and topped with the slices of mozzarella. Putting this in the oven to cook, I took out a smaller pot and began boiling oil and water for the pasta noodles. I knew it would take about ten minutes for the water to boil, so I went to my back pack to grab my book.

I heard the timer for the water go off and jumped at the disturbance in the eerie quietness. As I made my way to the kitchen I could here the rain picking up outside. When I looked out the kitchen window it was as black as Edward Cullen's eyes when I saw him in history yesterday. That brought something back to my memory. When I was in Language Arts, I could have sworn that his eyes were that same, strange gold color that his sister's had been. They were an odd bunch, the Cullens. I wonder what the eye thing was all about. Maybe all this rain was finally getting to me, and I was going insane. I broke free of my thoughts and went back to the boiling water. The chicken still had about fifteen minutes left there was plenty of time for the noodles. I quickly broke them up and placed them in the water. Just then I heard a car door and looked out the window to the driveway. Dad was home.

"Bella?" he called, "I'm home."

"Hey, Dad. I was just cooking dinner," I explained. This made him smile.

"What's on the menu tonight, Bells?"

"Chicken parmesan with some pasta and French bread." I remembered that I had yet to take the bread out and butter it to prepare it for cooking. I walked over to the pantry and took out the long loaf of bread. I sliced it in half and put the unused bread back in its plastic bag. When I went back to slicing and buttering the bread Dad decided that he didn't need to hover. He went into the living room, and I soon heard the noise of some kind of sports announcer drift through the halls. I popped the bread into the oven for the remainder of the time the chicken was to cook. Eight minutes was all the bread really needed anyways.

I went to the stairs, told Dad to call me when he heard the timer, and took to my room. My room was the same as it's always been since I was born. Of course, the crib had been replaced by a bed, and the changing table had been removed to make way for a small computer desk where my ancient computer sat with a long cable running to the phone jack for my mediocre internet connection. The walls were still light blue and the curtains were a cream-yellow color where they had previously been white, but they had become discolored with their age. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner by my sad excuse for a closet. Let's put it this way; if I were to go stand inside my closet I would barely fit. It was too small to fit all my clothes, but that's what I had my chest of droors for.

I walked over to the computer and moved the mouse around. When the screen finally came up I plugged in the dial-up cord. I wanted to check my e-mail, so plugging it in now meant that it would be up by the time I had finished eating dinner, cleaned up the leftovers, and done the dishes.

"Bells? The timer went off," I heard Dad at the bottom of the stairs.

"Coming!"

I left the computer and took my time on the stairs. I knew that if I had tried to go fast I would have fallen. My effort was wasted in the end, for I tripped on the last step and landed on my knees in the middle of the foyer. _At least I was at the bottom of the stairs, so I didn't fall _all_ the way down, _I thought to myself.

"You okay, honey?" Dad called over his game.

"Yeah, Dad, I'm fine."

I took the bread and the chicken out of the oven, and turned the heat off of the noodles. I stirred them around for a couple of seconds and strained the water out in the sink. When I was putting the food into plates for Dad and me, I noticed him coming into the kitchen and taking a deep breath through his nose.

"That smells good, sweetie."

"Thanks," I smiled at him, while handing him a plate.

Dinner was a comfortable silence and the chicken parmesan was very good if I do say so myself. Dad seemed to think the same thing, for he had gotten a second helping. I went to get the leftovers ready for the fridge, while Dad cleared the table. When I was done cleaning up I washed the dishes by hand.

When I finished up I told Dad goodnight, and went upstairs to see if the computer was ready. It was. Tons of little pop-up ads covered the screen, and it took about five minutes just to clear them away. When I opened up my e-mail I had three new messages.

The most recent was from Mike:

_Hey Bella,_

_Me and my mom going to pick you up for the movies at around twelve on Saturday, if that's okay. You still want to go, right? Just checking to make sure the plan was still on. I think Jess really misses all of us hanging out together. You remember in sixth grade when we used to do this kind of stuff all the time? I miss the good old days. We really need to hang out more…Well, bye Bells! E-mail back if there's any problem with the plan. _

_Mike._

I replied back telling him that the plan was still on for the movies. I really_ did_ miss the old days when we all were actually_ friends_.

The next was from this afternoon, from Lila:

_Bella! Just thought I'd say hi. This is my only means of communication for the next two weeks, because my parents are losers. They got all mad at me just because I talked over my minutes last month. I really wish they'd get a clue, you know? Grr. Anyways, just e-mail me for a while, so we can keep in touch outside of school. I love you, girlie! Talk to you later!_

_Lila._

The last was from two weeks ago. Looks like my mom actually remembered I existed.

_Hello, Bella._

_How's life in that ominous town of yours? I don't know how you can stand all that rain, dear…Anyways, I just wanted to say hello, and see how my favorite little girl was doing. Mommy will talk to you later! Love you,_

_Mom._

I was appalled. _That was the fakest e-mail I have ever gotten in my entire life!_ I thought. But I replied back anyways. I told her that I missed her, too, and that the town was great. I told her that the rain was easy to live with when you liked it. _See what you make of that,_ I said in my head as I hit Send. She only e-mailed when she wanted to brag about something in her life, so I didn't even bother asking how she was. I knew she would tell me, regardless.

I decided that shutting down the internet would only lead to having to wait the next time I used it, so I was just going to leave it up. I wasn't really tired and I didn't have anything else to do, so I took one of my CD's out, put it in my CD player, turned it on loop, and plugged in the head phones for me to listen. I listen to the music while I was lying down on my bed, so I ended up falling asleep with the music in my ears.

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I slowly came to consciousness and could still hear the music playing, and I groggily looked at the clock as I turned it off. Oh. My. God. It was seven o' clock, and I only had a half an hour to get ready for school. Crap! I had forgotten to set my alarm last night, and now I was running late. I ran to my dresser, grabbed a hoodie and some jeans, and ran to the bathroom. I jumped in without even letting the water warm up, so I ended up taking a cold shower. When I finished I went into my room to check the time. Seven fifteen. I ran downstairs, grabbed a granola bar, and ate it on the way upstairs. By the time I was to the bathroom the granola bar was gone, and I was brushing my teeth. I turned off the water and took my bathroom stuff back in my room. My hair was wet, but there was nothing I could do about it. I could hear the horn honking from Lila's mom's minivan.

I ran down the stairs and grabbed my bag. Today was going to be hellish, I could tell.

"Hey Lila, Mrs. Peru," I said while jumping into the van.

"What happened to you?" Lila asked. I guessed she was referring to my wet hair and lack of breath.

"I forgot to set my alarm clock and woke up about a half an hour ago."

She laughed, "I'm sorry."

"No you're not," but I smiled in spite of myself.

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We got to school a little later than usual, so there was no lingering around before class. It was strait to Geometry for us. I was happy to see that Alice was back in her seat today. I walked over and sat down in the seat next to her.

"Hey, Alice. How's Edward?"

"What?" she looked confused.

"I thought he was…sick or something," it came out sounding like a question.

"Oh, right. Yeah, he's doing better," she got quiet for a couple of moments, "He'll be back by Friday." She looked confident and final in her prediction, so I didn't push for further information.

When the bell rang the, teacher came bustling in. Everyone got back in their seats and stopped talking. Today we were working on dilations. He taught us how to resize different pictures and gave us an in-class project. We were to pick two to three people to be in our group, and choose one of the pictures he had on his desk and dilate it. My group consisted of Lila and Alice, of course. Alice was really good at drawing, so we did all the math work that was involved and left her to the picture. The three of us made a great team. We were the first ones done, so we got our home work and worked ahead. I had finished my homework with little time to spare.

When the bell rang, Alice rose swiftly and waited for me to get my things together. As we walked through the door I waved a small goodbye to Lila and walked in the opposite direction. As we neared the classroom I couldn't help but feel anxious. I knew that Alice had said he wouldn't be back until Friday, but I felt myself hoping. Of course, when we walked through the door, he wasn't there. And during the time between the bells he still didn't show. Even though I _knew_ he wouldn't be there I was disappointed. The rest of class went through in a blur. I walked to Spanish and that class flew by as well. I wasn't in the mood for the rest of the day and Lila could see that.

"What's wrong, Bell?" she asked worriedly.

"Nothing. I'm just not in a very good mood today. I'm a little hungry, because I didn't really get breakfast this morning, so I'm sure I'll be fine after lunch," I gave her a small, reassuring smile.

"Okay," she agreed reluctantly.

When I went through the lunch line I got a cheeseburger, some fries, and a Coke.

All through lunch, sitting with Mike and Jessica's group again, Jessica talked to me like we'd been friends for ages. She had come and sat on my left while Mike and Lila chatted on my right. I could see Lauren glaring as she tried to make it look like she was having fun without Jess by her side. I kind of felt sorry for Jessica, because I just wasn't in the mood to talk or be ecstatic about who likes who. She was basically just talking to herself. I gave the right types of emotion whenever she said something that required it so I didn't seem rude, but I really had no idea what she was blabbing on about.

I felt a wave of loneliness and despair as the person who obviously hated me wasn't in his seat in History. Why in the world was I sad he wasn't here? I should be happy he's gone. He hates me for Christ's sake! I cringed internally as I thought of tomorrow. Alice said he wasn't going to be back until Friday, so tomorrow was going to be another day killing loneliness.

It was then that it hit me. It explained why I wanted to make him happy, why I was depressed when he wasn't here, why I wanted to hear anything that had to do with the Cullens: I was crushing on some one who despised me with such intensity that I could practically see the anger and hatred rolling off of him. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

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**Author's Note:** I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know I said that I was going to get it up sooner, but I didn't. I'm a loser, and I suck. I'm sorry. But I _promise_ that the next chapter will be up sooner! Thanks for reading! PLEASE REVIEW!!! If you do, I'll love you forever!!


	4. Chapter Four: Faking It

**Disclaimer:** See previous chapter…XD

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**Chapter Four: Faking It**

After my revelation I couldn't think about anything else. That was not a good thing considering that I had gym next period. I think that some time after the teacher had put us into teams for us to play basketball reality sort of came back into focus. Of course, it wasn't enough focus to save me from getting hit in the head with the ball _and_ utter embarrassment. It was stupid. These people should know by now that it would bring nothing but peril if the ball came anywhere near me. Apparently, knowing me since I was born didn't have any affect on the rest of the class's common sense levels. Sometimes I wondered if people could see me at all.

I was hit in some way exactly six more times, and gym showed mercy by ending. I took a quick, cold shower to rinse myself of sticky perspiration, and changed back into the day's clothes.

Biology was up next. I faintly remember the teacher telling us yesterday that we were doing some kind of cellular anatomy lab today as we were all heading out the door. Great. So I'd actually have to pay attention.

Sitting in my seat I awaited the materials and directions from the teacher.

I spent the rest of the class figuring out the lab. I thanked God that it was Lila's and my last class, because we, as partners, still couldn't figure it out until about ten minutes after the dismissal bell. The teacher didn't mind us staying after, so it didn't matter that we turned it in kind of late. I thought about how, last year, my science teacher was way too strict on due dates. If it wasn't turned in exactly on time you got about ten points taken off. I suspected that she wasn't a very happy person.

The rest of the day was routine. I went home, did my homework, fixed dinner, did the dishes, and went to bed.

I dreamt about Edward Cullen again. I had that same dream I had had the first night after I had met him. The only difference being that I wasn't afraid; I was anxious to see his face again in the morning. When I woke to the piercing sound of my alarm clock I started rushing through the morning proceedings.

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I was anxious to arrive at school even though I wouldn't be seeing Edward until next hour. I'll admit that I was a little nervous that he would have those same glares full of hatred shooting at me when I saw him, but I didn't care. Maybe, just maybe, I could change his mind about me. That little hope is what got me through first period. At the end of the class I had a completed worksheet in front of me, and I didn't even remember getting one to start with. I didn't care though.

Alice walked with me, as usual. I had a lot on my mind, so I wasn't exactly being talkative. Alice, being the incredibly perceptive person that she was, caught on quickly.

"What are you planning?" she asked suggestively.

"Huh?"

"You've got one of those looks on your face," she clarified, "Looks like you're planning to do something that you're not so sure you should do…" She gave me a questioning look and I played dumb.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I told her. Of course, I knew exactly what she was talking about, but I was too embarrassed to fess up. I mean, how could I tell someone, who just moved here not a week or two ago, that I was practicallyin _love_ with their_ brother?_ I was surprised at myself for saying that, even if I was just in my head. I was most certainly _not_ in love with this Edward Cullen. I just found him extremely fascinating was all.

"Sure you don't," was all she said. She wasn't looking for an explanation and she was dropping it. I always knew that we'd get along great.

We spent the rest of the walk in silence.

My heart rate increased radically as I came within ten feet of my Language Arts classroom. I wondered if he was already in there or if he hadn't quite made it yet. We walked closer and I could here my heart pounding in my ears. Alice looked at me worriedly, and I wondered if my face gave away everything. "It's nothing," I told her and pushed open the classroom door.

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That had to be at least the millionth time my eyes had involuntarily peeked at the side of his face. That meant that that had to be about the millionth time that I had caught him steeling glances in my direction. He didn't look mad or anything, but his expression was not exactly easy to read either. It looked like there was a hint of intrigue and a bit of curiosity, too. I was going mad trying to figure out what he was so curious about. I'm not a very interesting person, really; not compared with someone like him or his sister, Alice.

Alice was looking a little nervous herself. Her eyes kept flickering from me to Edward and back again. The Cullens had to have been the oddest people I'd ever met. They made it extremely hard to concentrate on the grammar practice test we were taking at the moment. I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be getting an A on this thing. The bell couldn't have rung fast enough. When the clock finally hit 10:20 I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Well, more like two pairs of eyes staring at me so much that I could practically feel them on me. I felt those same stares continuing as I made my way out of the classroom. I knew that Alice could tell something was wrong, because I usually walked with her to her class since it was in the same direction as my next hour.

I went to my locker, got my things, and fast walked to Spanish.

"Hola señorita Bella," Lila joked at me with a small courtesy and a huge grin.

"Yeah, yeah." I wasn't in the mood for jokes. I was still analyzing the class previous.

Spanish went by in a blur and I was barely aware of myself doing the worksheet on my desk. I some how managed to loose myself in thought, and write down my homework assignment. I walked with Lila to lunch and vaguely remembered listening to her prattle on about the pros and cons of wooden and mechanical pencils. I swear that girl could talk about anything. At least this gave me the option of only having to nod and "uh huh" in the right places.

I went through the lunch line and bought a slice of pizza, some little carrots, and a carton of milk. I went to sit at the usual table and took my usual peek at the Cullens and Hales. The only difference was that Edward Cullen was there, and he was looking in the same direction as our table. As soon as our eyes met he immediately turned towards the opposite wall. He was starting to irritate me. My God! What was his deal? I found myself even more intrigued than the first time I'd seen him. We spent the rest of lunch playing the same game. I'd catch him looking at me, he'd catch me staring at him, and so the process continued.

It wasn't until I had only five minutes that I realized that next period would be just Edward and me. Alone. In History. I found myself suddenly nervous to no end. What would happen? Would he be angry? Would he ignore me? There were too many questions looming on the horizon for me to concentrate on the fact that Mike and Jessica were talking to me about what we would do, on Saturday, besides the movie. At least they didn't _seem_ to notice how spaced I was from the conversation.

I watched as the strange, new family got up and left before the bell even had a chance to dismiss them. I, myself, waited until the last possible moment before I set off on my way. I felt as if I were on death row, walking the hall to my execution. I could almost here the morose music playing in the background: _dum dum dumdum dum dada dadum da dum…_

But when I got into the classroom Edward had a look of calm and peace about him. He was actually…smiling. Well, I wouldn't really call it a _smile_. It was more of a impish grin, but what came afterwards was definitely the most amazing smile I had ever seen in my life. He had looked up and spotted me coming through the door when one half of his perfect lips pulled up into a crooked-yet-dazzling smile. It took my breath away.

"Good afternoon," he greeted me. I was so taken aback that I just stared like an idiot. His smile faded a bit as he continued, "I don't think we've ever had the pleasure of speaking. I'm Edward Cullen, I'm new here. I believe that you've met my sister, Alice. She thinks that you're just wonderful, you know."

"I'm Bella," I said, "Um…Yes, I've met Alice. She's great." I didn't know what else to say. I was completely dumbfounded.

"Are you contemplating making a run for it?" he asked teasingly. It was only then did I realize I hadn't sat down yet. As soon as I took my seat his eyes met mine and seemed to be searching for something.

"So…how do you like Forks?" I asked for the sake of saying something. I didn't want to just stare at him without having some sort of a reason.

"Well, it's pretty wet and cold, but that's how it was in the last place we lived. How do _you_ like being the police chief's daughter?" That same look of intense curiosity crossed his face, and a look of confusion and amazement crossed mine.

"How did you know I was the police chief's daughter?"

"Because I'm psychic, of course," I was so sure there was something strange about him and his family that I almost believed him, but a small smile was playing around the edges of his mouth so I threw him a disbelieving look, "Okay, fine. So I met your dad last week, and he told us all about you." My mouth fell open in shock. Why was my dad just throwing out information about me to the nearest listening ear. He was never any good at the whole privacy thing.

"What else did he tell you about me?" His face got serious and he stared at me with complete sincerity.

"He said that you were tremendously bright, terribly kind, and the most responsible person he'd ever met in his entire life."

I raised an eyebrow to try and cover up my embarrassment, but I could feel the heat in my cheeks and I knew that he could tell. "I'd believe you, but Charlie Swan doesn't use words like tremendously and terribly."

"I may have improvised a bit," he shrugged, "but the concept was still the same."

"What about you? You're the new kid. Shouldn't you be telling me something about yourself?"

"What do you want to know?" he said in a guarded tone. I was confused, but I didn't point it out to him. I just continued on with some questions.

"Hmm. Let's see. How about…How old are you?"

"Fifteen." He answered without a second thought.

"You seem much older than fifteen. You could probably pass for seventeen or eighteen."

"I'm fifteen," he said more finally.

I was about to continue, but I heard the final bell ring and the teacher walked in.

"Good afternoon, students," she said all smiley. She didn't get much of a reply, so she proceeded in passing out the warm ups. Throughout the whole first twenty minutes of class I couldn't think of anything besides Edward Cullen and all the mysterious comments he seemed to make. The next thirty minutes were used to complete the daily tasks like a good little student. The last ten minutes were used to steel glances at the strange, bronze-haired boy across from me. I couldn't help myself. I was basically having withdrawal symptoms. I had to talk to him before the bell rang.

"So…How was your last school?" I asked casually.

"Excuse me?"

"The school you went to before you moved here. Do you miss it?"

"Well," he looked guarded, like he was trying not to give something away, "I didn't like it very much, so I really don't miss it."

"Don't you miss your friends?" I asked. If I had of moved from here to a totally different school right before I started high school I think I would have flipped! I'm already shy enough as it is, "I mean, I don't think I would have been able to manage starting over after I've lived here my entire life."

"We moved a lot. I didn't really have_ friends_. I never really fit in anywhere there…But how about you?" he had that quizzical look on his face again, "You don't seem to fit in with the kids around here, either. I wonder why that is."

"What do you mean, I don't fit in?" I knew exactly what he meant, though. I was never on the same page as the kids my age, or any other age really. Not even Jacob or Lila, who I was closer to than any other people on the planet, weren't in sync with me exactly. But just because it was true didn't mean I wanted it pointed out. Especially not by some new kid that may or may not despise me. He didn't know me.

"You just seem to be more, I don't know, original than most of the people around here," he pointed out. That surprised me. I may have been hallucinating, but that sounded kind of like a compliment.

"In what way?" I had never thought of myself as special. I wanted to know what it was he saw that I couldn't see.

"You work differently than everyone else. I…I haven't exactly put my finger how so yet, but I plan on figuring it out," he said cryptically.

I just sat and studied him. What an odd answer.

"Wha—," I began, but I was cut off by the dismissal bell. And with that, he was gone. He rushed out the door like the place was on fire. I got up my things and walked out of the classroom with a pretty confused look on my face.

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I was about as on it as my clumsiness would allow in gym. I didn't get hit in the head and I only tripped twice. I was proud of my self. That had to have been a record for me. I could tell that Lila noticed, too. She kept giving me high fives every time I caught the basketball. Of course, like I said, my clumsiness only laid off to a certain point, so, when I tried to throw the ball so someone other than my self was carrying it, I did accidentally hit Mike Newton in the back and Samantha Price in the arm. Hey, they knew the risks of standing near me when I had something that I was supposed to throw or hit in my possession. They, along with most everyone else had been warned multiple times.

"I am impressed, Ms. Swan," Lila complimented on the way out of the locker rooms, "I didn't know you had it in you."

"What, the fact that I can somewhat control myself, or that I'm practically disabled when it comes to anything involving hand-eye coordination, yet I was about a half step above that today?"

"Honestly?" she asked and I nodded with a grin, "Both." We both laughed so hard that plenty of looks got tossed in our direction. Plenty of looks…including that of Edward and Alice's siblings: Rosalie Hale and Emmett Cullen. Emmett just stared while it looked like Rosalie was staring daggers. It was strange. I didn't even know her…

I had a suspicion that all the Cullens hated me, with the exception of Alice. I wondered what I had done to them, but couldn't come up with anything that made sense.

When I walked into biology I almost walked back out. We were dissecting frogs today. Oh, joy! I could barely stand the sight of my blood, let alone the sight of a bunch of frogs' blood. I already knew that I wouldn't make it through this little experiment, and so did Lila.

"Just go tell the teacher," she sighed. Lila had been in almost all of my science classes. She had been doing experiments like this alone for years, and it made me feel bad for her. She was stuck with a wimp for a best friend which meant she was alone when it came to things that her wimpy best friend's stomach couldn't handle. I looked at her apologetically and made my way to Professor Dill's desk.

"Excuse me, um, Professor?" I asked shyly.

"Yes, Bella?"

"I'm willing to bet one hundred dollars that I'm _not_ going to make it through this class without a trip to the nurse's office." He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I have a _very _weak stomach."

"Well, we will just have to cross that bridge when we get to it." I couldn't believe my ears. Did he want me to throw up all over his classroom?

"What?" I asked, horrified.

"I'm sorry, Bella, but this is a major part of your grade. If you don't do this experiment then you could be in danger of failing. If you _do_ get sick I'll send you to the nurse's office and give you another assignment. Please take your seat."

Great. I'd have to get sick in front of everyone. This was ridiculous! I went back to the black, two person tables where Lila and I say. When I lowered myself into my chair I knew that the look on my face was not a pretty one.

"What happened?" Lila asked. She was sympathetic, I could tell, but her real question was probably more along the lines of "How stupid is that teacher to send you back here to do this experiment. Now I'm going to have to get thrown up on. Great." This in turn made me feel even worse.

"He said that I had to do it because it was a major part of my grade." I felt like crying. Today was not going to have a happy ending.


	5. Chapter Five: Frogs, the Nurse, and Cars

**Disclaimer: **See previous chapters. XD

**Chapter Five: Frogs, the Nurse, and Cars. Oh my.**

Professor Dill began passing out the materials we were going to need. He passed out the dissecting trays, probes, scissors, and pins, forceps, rulers, and, last but not least, the frogs. I almost fainted right there. Those poor dead frogs. The frogs that we were about to hack up. I started to feel woozy at the thought. Once we got everything set up, Lila began the cutting process. She made a small incision and something squirted out. I started to gag, and that was never a good sign.

"Just go sit at that empty table next to us and put your head down," Lila instructed. I wasn't one to argue. I knew that if I had stayed over there any longer I would have thrown up. I lay at the vacant desk for about five minutes, and then my quest for not getting sick was ended.

"Ms. Swan? What are you doing?" Professor Dill asked.

"She's trying not to throw up. She wasn't lying when she said she got sick easily," Lila stood up for me.

"I suppose she wasn't…Do you need to go to the nurse, dear?"

"That would be great," I thanked him.

"Do you need an escort?"

"No, thank you. I can manage." With that I picked up my things and exited the room. I supposed that I would have to do some kind of book report to make up for this little mishap.

I walked into the nurse's office from the cold chill of the outside. It was nice and warm in this building. The main office was connected with the room where the school nurse treated the students, so I was stopped by the secretary before I made it to the door.

"Can I help you?" Mrs. Cope asked.

"I'm just going to see the nurse. I'm not feeling too well," I explained to her.

"Okay, dear. Just wait right here and I'll go see if she's ready for you."

I smiled at her, sat down, and began looking around the room. It was small with a desk in the middle that was cluttered with flyers and pens and other pieces of paper. There were potted plants everywhere and about five other plastic chairs, like the one I was sitting in, along the wall. It was another five minutes before the curly, red headed secretary came back.

"You can go in now," she smiled.

"Thank you." I walked to the green door and pushed it open. There, at a small wooden desk sat an elderly woman with large cat-eye glasses.

"Yes?"

"We were dissecting frogs in Professor Dill's class today, and I got sick," I explained to her.

"Here," she said, "lay down for a couple of minutes, and I'll go get you an ice pack and some Saltines." She steered me towards a small cot and I lay down to rest my eyes. A few minutes later the nurse came back with a plastic bag full of ice, a ginger ale, and some crackers. She let me lay down for a few more minutes, but she had more patients coming in and only one cot. I went out in the office and sat down in one of the chairs. There was a line at the desk keeping Mrs. Cope busy. The next thing I knew Edward walked through the door and Mrs. Cope asked him to take a seat. He looked around and sat a couple seats away from me when he had located the chairs.

"Hi," I said to him. He looked over at me and smiled a little.

"Hello." We didn't say anything for the next few seconds, but the silent treatment didn't last long, "What are you in for?"

"Huh?" I asked him. He had caught me off guard, but that didn't stop me from responding, "Oh, I'm just not feeling too well, that's all."

He looked worried, so I told him about the whole frog incident. He surprised me by laughing. My eyes widened in false hurt.

"You think it's _funny_ that I can't stand the sight or smell of blood and guts?"

He laughed some more and nodded his head. I laughed with him this time. It _was_ pretty funny. Then I started to feel sick again. My stomach was turning flips and it felt like the room was spinning. He stopped laughing and his expression turned anxious again.

"Are you okay?"

"I wish I could go home," was all I said.

"Why can't you?"

"They would never just let me walk up and say 'Hey, I just thought I'd go home now. Bye.' It'd never work."

"Don't be so sure. Wait here," he ordered. He walked up to the counter and looked the unsuspecting woman right in the eye, "Mrs. Cope? Bella's not feeling so well, and I think she needs to go home." I was shocked. Like she'd listen to him!

"Yes, she didn't seem like she felt too well…Let me just sign her out," she said to him. I was even more shocked than I was before. He had just got me excused from school…just because he asked! It was absolutely amazing, "Alright, it's all taken care of."

"Thank you very much," he smiled a dazzling smile at her and then walked back to me, "Told you."

"How did you do that?"

"What can I say? I'm just very persuasive."

"Well, thank you."

"Do you need a ride?" That was unexpected.

"No, thank you. It's not that far home. And besides, you can't drive," he was only fifteen. He didn't have his license.

"Oh, yes. Well, Emmett is skipping anyways, so he could drive you. Besides, I'm sick of being here. Home sounds nice," he offered.

"Nah, I think I'll walk. Thanks for helping me escape," I said and waved goodbye. I went to my locker, put up my books, and took a piece of paper out to tell Lila I wouldn't be riding home with her today. I stuck the note in her locker and made my way towards the door to freedom.

I was at the main road, and I had just crossed the street. I continued walking, looking around me at the beautiful forest. I had made it about three fourths of a mile away from the school and was about to walk a sharp corner. As soon as I made it around I saw car coming. I didn't think anything of it at first, but then it started to swerve. It was heading straight for me. I tried to jump out of the way, but by the time I had it was already too close, and I couldn't get far enough away. I closed my eyes hard and prepared myself for the impact of the speeding car, but when it hit, it wasn't as hard as I'd expected. Now, I'd never been hit by a car before, but at the speed that that thing was going and how close it had been, I expected a lot more than a bruise. I landed on the ground with a thud, and felt something hard and cold on top of me.

I opened my eyes and saw a terrified Edward Cullen. He had pushed me out of the way of the car! This reminded me that there _was_ a car and it had just run off the road and crashed. I looked around and saw the heap of metal lying upside down and bunched up against the trees. I looked back at Edward with confusion in my eyes and then I remembered something.

"Where did you come from?" I asked him. He was supposed to be a school.

"I—Uh, I was right behind you…You forgot your book," he stuttered and pointed over at my backpack where all my books where strewed.

"But I didn't see you. I was just looking back there when the car came…You weren't there," I accused. It didn't make sense, but that was the truth. I had been looking at the forest around me, at the school in the distance, and not once had I seen him.

"I was right there, Bella," he told me, pleading with his eyes.

"I—The driver!"

"What?"

"The driver of the car! We have to see if he's alright." I had totally forgotten about the car. I was too busy trying to bring truth to insanity. I was off the subject for now, but it wouldn't be for good.

Edward rushed over to the car and disappeared for a minute. When he reappeared he looked grim.

He shook his head from side to side, "He didn't make it."

"We have to tell someone. Call the police or something."

"I don't have a cell phone. There's a pay phone at the school," he offered. I started walking back, and he followed in silence. I could feel him looking at me.

"You know, I haven't forgotten that you weren't anywhere near me," I reminded him

"What?" he asked. He made it sound like he didn't know what I was talking about, but there was a hint of fear behind his words.

"When you pushed me out of the way of the car. You weren't anywhere around."

"I'm telling you, Bella, I was," he said trying to convince me.

"I don't understand why you won't just admit it."

He was quiet for a minute, but then he continued, "You know what you're saying sounds completely insane, right?"

"Oh, I know, but that doesn't mean it isn't true." I was sounding crazier by the minute, "Why won't you just tell me what's going on? You can trust me."

"And how do I know that?" His accusation hurt. I know I didn't know him that well, but still. I didn't respond. We were at the school now, so I just walked up to the pay phone.

"Crap," I said while looking through my pockets. I didn't have any money. Edward reached around me, grabbed the phone, put in the twenty-five cents it took to make the call.

He waited a few seconds for someone to pick up. "Yes. I would like to report a serious traffic accident just up the road from Forks High School. I'm afraid the driver didn't make it," he paused. For a reaction I assumed, "You're welcome." _Click_. He hung up. I started walking back towards the road so I could go home when I noticed that he was following me. I spun around and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I think I'm going to walk you home. You don't look so good." I scoffed and walked on. I had left my things where the accident happened, so I stopped to pick them up on the way. Once I had gathered my things I continued walking. The whole trip was silent. I didn't say anything to him, and he didn't say anything to me. We reached my house in about forty-five minutes, and I didn't even turn around when I told him goodbye. I was still utterly upset that he didn't trust me. I opened my front door and quickly closed it behind me. I didn't want him to leave without getting one last good look at him for the rest of the day, so I ran to the kitchen window to spy on him. He was already gone. I looked up the road in both directions, but I didn't see him. Where could he have gone so fast? I was starting to wonder if I had imagined everything from the car accident to the walk home.

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Charlie walked in the door just as I was taking the steaks out of the oven and the baked potatoes out of the microwave.

"Hey, Bells. Whatcha' cookin'?"

"Steak and potatoes. How was your day?" I asked. This was the moment of truth. If he told me about the car accident, then I could somewhat believe myself that Edward Cullen appeared out of nowhere, saved me from getting squashed like a bug on the windshield of that car, and then walked me home only to disappear seconds later. Yeah.

"Well, there was a really bad wreck in front of your school today," he said, "I had to go out there and when I did…Well, you know the rest."

Huh? What'd he mean? Did he know that I left school early? "I do?" I asked nervously.

"Well, I thought you would, seeing as you probably would have seen the mess when school let out…" Oh! Yeah. That would make sense.

"Oh, yeah. You mean how the driver didn't make it?" _Please, God, say that I was supposed to know that much, _I thought to myself. I was not in the mood for getting grounded over leaving school early, or explaining to Dad how I walked home from school alone. Of course, it would _had_ to have been alone, because I also didn't feel like telling him that I walked home from school early with Edward Cullen.

"Yes," he said with a suspicious look upon his face, "Are you feeling alright, honey?"

"I'm fine, Dad," I assured him. Just then the phone rang. I ran over and answered, "Swan residence."

"Hey, Bella! It's Mike," came the reply.

"Oh, hey Mike. What can I do you for?"

"Since you were all spaced at lunch, I just thought I'd call and confirm our plans for tomorrow."

"Oh," I said to him. The plans for the weekend made me realize that I hadn't yet mentioned it to Dad, "Can you hold on a second?"

"Sure." I put the phone down and turned to Dad.

"Hey, Dad? Mike Newton," he smiled at the name, so I continued, "_and_ Jessica Stanley are going to the movies this Saturday, and they wanted to know if I could go. Can I?"

"Uh, sure. Why not?"

"Okay. Great," I turned back to the phone, "Yeah. I can go. What time did you say you'd be by here again?"

"Around twelve," he paused, "Thanks for hanging out with us Bella. I'm really glad you decided to come. We haven't hung out in a long time."

"I know what you mean. We should do stuff like this more often. And, hey, maybe next time there will be more volunteers to join us."

"You never know," he laughed, "Alright, well bye, Bella. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Bye, Mike. See you tomorrow," I hung up the phone and turned back to setting the table for dinner. I hoped that tomorrow would be fun. I hadn't had any of that in a while. I needed a break. I had just finished setting the table and serving the food when the doorbell rang, "What now?"

I opened the front door, and Lila was standing there with a science book and a few sheets of paper.

"Hey," I said with a confused look on my face as I hugged her in welcome, "Whatcha' got there?"

"Professor Dill wanted me to give you these. It's the notes I took after we did the experiment and the assignment he wants you to do since you…got…," I stopped her before she could talk any further and get my dad to listening. I'd be caught for sure, "Okay, well we'll talk tomorrow. I'll call you around four to see how your date with Mike and Jessica went." I smiled at her and waved goodbye. I'm guessing that she would have stayed longer had she not been grounded still.

I went back to the table and was ready for my dad to go all detective on me and ask a bunch of questions, whether they were about tomorrow or what Lila was doing here. The movies would definitely be the easier choice seeing as I wouldn't have to lie for that one. I was a terrible liar. I would have been caught instantly if he'd asked me about Lila's visit. But I needn't worry about it since he never did. Tonight's dinner was quiet. I silently thanked God for that as I washed the night's dishes.

"I'm going to bed," I said. It was nine forty-five, and I was tired, "Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Bella," he said absently. He was watching one of his games on the sports channel. I didn't expect anymore than that.

I was surprised to find that the night's dream had changed. Instead of set in a classroom, it was set on the road, the one leading away from school. It was one of those dreams where you just knew you were alone. It was dead silent in a really creepy way. I walked and walked and turned back toward the school once or twice. No one was there, but I felt like someone was. I had walked about a mile away from school when, out of no where, Edward was at my side, but, just as quick as he was there, he was gone. This process went on and on until I finally woke up at ten fifteen AM.

I knew that I had to get ready for the movies, so I forced my body up, got some clothes, and picked up my bathroom bag.

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**Author's Note:** Ah ha! Yeah, no, but this chapter was really weird. I wanted Edward to give her a ride home, but I had forgotten that they're only fifteen (supposedly, in Edward and Alice's cases). So that created a little problem…Edward can't drive yet! Of course, Edward can drive, but he can't do it in front of anyone he knows from school. This leads to the fact that he can't drive at school, and so on. So…this chapter had to be kind of lame and he had to _walk_ her home from school. But it was kind of cute. It reminded me about the times when a lot of guys _walked_ the girls they liked home. Now all they do is say "Hey! You're hot! Jump in and I'll give you a ride!" Somehow it's just not quite as romantic…And, back to the point, it all worked out for the better I guess. Oh and please read my other story: Time to Dance. It may seem like it's going to suck because of some of the events, but I promise that something good will come of it. You WILL like it…I hope. Well, **READ & REVIEW**!! Thank you. :)


	6. Chapter Six: Through Good Times and Bad

Disclaimer: I will own the rights to Twilight someday

**Author's Note: **Hell to the yeah, I'm back! I'm going to try my very hardest to get out chapters once a week or so. Please forgive me for my terribly long absence. I'm sooo sorry! But I had tons to do. Thus, I was not able to put out any chapters. :'(

But as for this chapter, I just wanted to say that I know there will be many parallels with the actual book, but that's kind the only way I could think to do it. So yeah, I hope you enjoy! Read and Review for lots of LOVE! XD

**Disclaimer:** I will own the rights to Twilight someday! (though more likely than not, I won't). But until that day, as of this moment, I do not…unfortunately.

**Chapter Six: Through Good Times and Bad**

I was just finishing up a bowl of cereal when I heard a car outside. It was time to leave. I have to admit that I was not particularly in the mood to go to the movies this morning. To tell you the truth, if I hadn't promised, I would probably go hide in my closet until they went away, but promised I had. I was going to the movies.

Just then the phone rang. I debated answering, but in the end I decided it'd probably would be better to answer.

"Hello?"

"Bella? It's Jake…"

"What do you need, Jake, I'm kind of in a hurry," I pushed.

"Well, I've been feeling really bad about the whole not telling you about the Cullens thing…"

"Okay…"

His next few sentences all came out in a rush, "I just wanted to tell you why we all think everyone should stay away from the Cullens. There's an old tribal legend that supposedly says they've lived here before, hundreds of years ago. All of the tribal elders think that they're vampires, but they aren't doing anything about it because they're supposedly 'vegetarian'. They only drink animal blood. Sounds completely insane, eh Bells?" I didn't respond. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. This was insane alright! But deep down inside of me I knew they were _something_. They had to be. I was thinking this all through in my head when Jacob's worried voice brought me back to reality, "Bella? Oh crap, I knew I shouldn't have told her," he muttered under his breath, and then, a little louder, "Bella! Are you there?" I knew I had to say something.

"Oh sorry Jake. Yeah, I have to go, Mike and Jessica are waiting on me outside, but I'll definitely be calling you back later. I need a little more explanation than that, and you know it."

"I know," he sighed, "I'll talk to you later." Click. The line went dead. I knew that I should go outside and to the movies, but I just needed to see something first. I walked out the door and ran out to the car.

"I'm so sorry! I'm almost done. I overslept, and I'm going as fast as I can. Again, I'm _really_ sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Mike smiled.

"Yeah, Mr. Smarty-Pants over here didn't even check the movie times. We've got more than too much time left before it starts, so we're probably just going to walk around when we get there anyways." I smiled. This was perfect. I suddenly had this nagging curiosity about vampires, and I didn't think that I could enjoy myself today without finding a few things out.

"You guys can come inside if you want. I swear I'll only be a little while." I hear an annoyed sigh from the driver's seat. Mrs. Newton and I had been on awkward terms since I decided to flat out tell Mike that "we" were never going to happen. He had at least sort of gotten over it. I had a feeling that she was more upset about it than he was. She was determined that we would be just "the gosh darn cutest pair she ever did see". _I guess she still hasn't forgiven me_, I thought humorously.

She parked the van in Dad's spot, and I made my way into the house, leaving the door open. When I heard it close down stairs, I decided to play friendly host and told then to make themselves at home as I ran upstairs to fabricate my getting ready. I turned on the shower and jogged to my room. My internet wasn't the fastest, so I knew that I'd need a bit of time. _At least it's already up_, I thought to myself. It usually took forever for it to turn on. The was up in five minutes. I opened up a search engine and typed in the word _vampire_.

More results than I could count popped up, and less than a quarter of them looked like anything real. And less than half of _that_ even looked believable. I came across a web page that was called Vampires A-Z. _Hmm, _I thought,_ Looks promising._

As I scrolled through the page, I found nothing about vegetarian vampires and only one small paragraph about a vampire that swore to fight only for good. _All of this was stupid of course,_ I found myself thinking,_ I don't care what he is._ My mind had spoke the words before I even knew what I was doing. And then it hit me: I loved him. I had no idea what was going through my mind. I hadn't consciously made that decision, but apparently it didn't matter. My mind was made up. _I think I love Edward Cullen…_

I had had crushes before. Many times in fact. But nothing had ever compared to this. It was like a light bulb had just switched on in my head. I didn't even know where this all came from. It just…_happened_.

But I found that I liked the feeling. I was happy. I was ecstatic. I was…LATE! I had completely forgotten my guests down stairs. The shower was still running, and I was just staring dazedly at the ceiling. What was wrong with me? I jumped up and ran to my closet to find a new outfit. I couldn't very well go down the stairs in the same outfit after supposedly taking a shower. I found a pair jeans, and pulled out my favorite hoodie. I ran sneakily into the bathroom, making sure that no one was walking past the bottom of the stairs, and quickly changed into my new clothes. _My hair!_ I thought,_ My hair is dry!_

I ran to the shower and put some water in my hair to dampen it. I quickly turned off the faucet and took a towel to my hair. It looked shower fresh.

I ran back into my room and slid on some shoes. I was ready. I ran downstairs, and Mike, Jessica, and Mike's mother were all sitting on the couch watching T.V.

"I'm so sorry I took so long, but I'm done now," I said sheepishly. They all stood up and we made our way to the van.

We drove off towards Port Angeles and I started thinking about what Edward was doing right now. It _had_ to be more interesting than this. I just couldn't stop thinking about him; I just couldn't stop smiling to myself. I needed to stop. Mike and Jess were going to think something was up. They were going to ask questions. I needed to distract myself by thinking about something else…_Hmm…It's raining outside. There wasn't anything unusual about that. Another all-too-normal day in Washington. Well, at least it was supposed to stop raining soon._

"So, I thought that after the movie we could get something to eat, and then shop for a bit," Jess said happily.

"Shop?" Mike responded. He sounded just about as horrified as I know I was. Shopping was _not_ my thing. I didn't like to spend money. This was just one of the consequences of being the daughter of the poor-but-hard-working town sheriff. I've never had tons of money to just go out and spend, so the whole shopping thing never really caught on. I didn't really mind, though. I had everything I needed already. What's the point in having more than you need. Let me tell you: there isn't one.

"Yeah. I'm not sure that that's something I want to do either…," I said apologetically. I could see the disappointment coat her face.

"Okay," she sighed, "Well, what do you guys want to do then?"

"We could go down to the boardwalk. It's amazing when the sun sets," Mike offered. It sounded good to me as long as the rain really _did_ stop. As if my pleas were heard by some unseen force, the rain began to slow.

"Sounds good," I said. Jess nodded her head in agreement.

We got to Port Angeles about an hour and fifteen minutes later. The movie didn't start for another twenty minutes, so we just decided to walk around for a bit. The streets weren't crowded (surprise, surprise) and the rain still held off. The sun still wasn't showing, but that I did not mind. In my younger years, I used to love the sun, and would become close to tears every time it went away. You don't need me to tell you that I wasn't such a happy person, but that's beside the point. The point is that I got used to the rain, and now I'm rather fond of it. I just don't exactly enjoy getting soaked through and through. Which is why I practically ran screaming for shelter when the bottom fell out. But, within a matter of seconds, I was laughing and dancing in the nearly deserted streets. Jess and Mike seemed to be happy as well. They were running right along next to me. _Wow_, I thought,_ Maybe the rain isn't so bad after all._

The fun ended when we'd looped back around to the theatre. It was time for the movie.

--

'_AHHHHHHHHHH!!,_' screamed one of the actresses on the movie screen. _Wow. Look at that…there went another one_…, I thought sickly.

By now my stomach was really starting to churn. Like I said before, I don't like horror movies. I don't like the blood and guts (especially the blood). Amazingly, Mike and Jessica were finding this movie _funny_! I felt terrible, but I just couldn't watch any more of this. I decided that I was just going to let them know that I'd be at the board walk when they got done with the movie. Yeah. That sounded like the safest this to do if I didn't want to puke.

"Hey, you guys, I think I'm going to just meet you at the board walk. This movie is just way too scary for me…"

"Aw, Bella, don't worry, we can leave early," Jess said as she motioned to get up. I didn't want to ruin their night, so I stopped her before they could make there way out of the theatre. They sat back down and continued the movie while I made my way to the exit.

It had stopped raining. The sky was still grey of course, but it just wasn't as gloomy as it was earlier. I liked it. I continued walking in the direction of the pier, and I could see the bright lights that were emanating from it. The sun was just starting to set. Jessica wasn't kidding when she had said we had too much time before the movie started. At least the board walk seemed like a much safer, non-bloody place to be.

"Hey!" I heard from right behind me. As soon as I went to turn around, a gloved hand covered my mouth. CRAP! I started screaming in vain. _Like anyone could actually hear me out here, _I thought frantically. The street was deserted. Everyone was either at the board walk or in the movie theatre. Why me? The guy started pulling me backwards, and I turned just enough to see a dark car parked on the side of the road about a hundred yards away. This gave me a little time to struggle. I started kicking and flailing; I even tried biting a few times. Nothing was working. I was in serious trouble, and I was losing hope the closer I got towards that car. I began kicking even harder until I felt him reach into one of his pockets.

The man put something to my throat, and I stopped moving immediately. "That's right," he said menacingly, "One more movement, one more sound, and I'm going to cut your pretty little face." I could feel my heart about jump out of my chest.

I saw a flash of light coming from in front of us, and I tried desperately to get out of his grasp. It was to no avail. He pulled me behind some bushes on the side of the road until the car had passed. No! I was so angry at him, at myself. I started to cry. I could feel the tears stream down my face. It was hopeless. I was done for.

He stayed behind the bush a moment longer to make sure the coast was clear. Just as he started to stand us up, another car pulled around the corner. He pulled me back down, waiting for the car to speed by. _Please stop,_ I shouted in my head. The car screeched to a stop right in front of the bushes. The driver's door swung open so hard I thought it was going to fly off. I heard a menacing growl that I could only describe as monstrous. The driver's silhouette advanced so fast that I was starting to wonder if I was delirious. But suddenly, impossibly, he was there. Edward was pulling the man off of me so fast. He threw him farther than I could have thought possible, and the man got up and ran. Edward offered me his hand and all but pulled me to a silver Volvo waiting, engine running. He swung open the passenger door and I scrambled to get in. He walked to the driver's side and slammed it closed. I could see his face under the street light.

Edward looked devastatingly angry. It was terrifying yet comforting at the same time. He had saved my life. He began driving and just kept going. He was going faster and getting farther away and then he just stopped. We were on the side of the road, not two feet from a wall of trees. He rested his head against the steering wheel then and a thought popped into my head…

"Hey? Are you okay?" I asked. I had to ask because A) I was really worried about him, and B) He looked REALLY angry. As in, murderously angry…


End file.
